Tag Archives: Los Angeles

When a player says he’s hurting and worried you can pretty much count on a trip to the DL. Such is the case with Carlos Beltran, who had a MRI today on his barking knee. The news isn’t good and word is Beltran will go on the DL and Fernando Martinez will be recalled.

Ailing Beltran sidelined.

Beltran had been playing through the pain, but after Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay, said: “I don’t feel I can play a lot of games the way it felt today. I’m a little bit worried, to be honest, because the way it was today, it was painful.”

Don’t forget, this is a guy who played with a fractured face. He’s played through pain before.

Beltran was initially injured his right knee in Los Angeles in mid-May. He served as the DH in the Boston series at Fenway, but missed two games against Washington, May 26-27. Beltran was diagnosed with a bone bruise and a cortisone injection seemed to work until now.

Only Murphy, Wright and Church were in the Opening Day line-up. That Tatis, who hasn’t been hitting lately is at clean-up is a sobering thought. Albert Pujols has more homers than the entire Mets’ batting order. Hell, even if Beltran were in there Pujols would probably have more.

Great pitching match-up tonight – should they play – between lefties Johan Santana (7-2, 2.00) and J.A. Happ (4-0, 2.48 ERA). Santana gave up three runs in six innings in his last start, a loss at Pittsburgh. Santana beat the Phillies, May 6, in a sterling 10-strikeout performance in seven innings.

Not surprisingly, Daniel Murphy is not in the starting line-up against Happ, replaced by Fernando Tatis.

Tonight starts the Mets’ most difficult stretch of the season with two series each against Philadelphia and the Yankees, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Just taking your temperature on your concern level with the Mets as they head into the roughest part of their schedule. Upcoming over the next few weeks are the Phillies twice, Yankees twice, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.

And, they’ll be playing with questions in their rotation, notably Mike Pelfrey and John Maine being erratic; a strained bullpen; and numerous offensive issues. Is Gary Sheffield out of gas? Will Daniel Murphy hit like he did in the beginning of the season? And, will David Wright and Carlos Beltran start hitting with some power?

With the exception of Johan Santana starting tomorrow night, the pitching match-ups in the Philadelphia series favor the Phillies. Against superior pitching, the Mets aren’t hitting enough to compensate for their pitching deficiencies.

When you look at the Mets overall, they are closer to being the team that was swept at Los Angeles than the team that won two of three at Fenway Park.

The Mets need to hang close until late July to see where they are at the trade deadline. Given their upcoming schedule, a losing streak is definitely possible. More possible than a lengthy winning roll. This isn’t a team built to where they can climb out of a 10-game hole.

Murphy, the Mets’ first baseman of the future, will start at the position tonight in Los Angeles as the club attempts to avoid being swept by the Dodgers. Manager Jerry Manuel said Murphy would also start the three games in Boston.

Manuel has been going with Jeremy Reed and Fernando Tatis at first in place of Carlos Delgado, who underwent hip surgery Monday and will be out at least two months.

All I can say is it’s about time. Circumstances dictate drastic measures and that includes seeing if Murphy can handle the position. There’s only one way to find out, and that is to play him.